A Journey Cut Short
by TLM
Summary: DAISY WROTE PART IV, this is a joint story. As of now, the Demon of Vitality is stealing the youth of infants of witches and now Phoebe and Paige have discovered that Piper and Leo's baby may be the only way to save everyone.
1. Weathering Woes of Wilt

Disclaimer: Charmed belongs to other people. My name is not other people, so don't look at me! (I love a show that doesn't start with THE)  
  
AN: This will be a joint story between Aqua (that would be me) and Daisy, so this is why you will end up seeing two different authors for this fic.   
  
A Journey Cut Short  
PART I: Weathering Woes of Wilt  
Aqua  
  
  
  
"Phoebe!" Paige's voice reverberated off of each slab of wood leading down the hallway as she pounded with a bitter early morning rage against the oak door leading to the upstairs bathroom. She turned at the creaking whine of Piper and Leo's bedroom door while a very pregnant Piper waddled toward her, stopping to stare her dead in the eyes and with a blunt and deliberate voice spoke, "Again?"  
"Yep," Paige threw her hands up into the air referring to Phoebe's inhabitation of the bathroom, then saw Piper's pouting face, "again?"  
"Yep," Piper replied with a sigh and added mock perk to her ragged voice, "my husband has orbed away from his very pregnant wife once again because he hears freakin *voices in his head* calling for him."   
"I'm sure he had a good reason, Piper," Paige shrugged while pounding on the door once again, "Phoebe!"  
"Yeah, well I'll agree that Phoebe is hogging the bathroom all the time if you agree Leo needs to orb his butt back here."  
"Works for me," the red-headed sister affirmed with a nod, "Its 9:30, Phoebe!" At last, the long awaited sister swung the door open with a towel wrapped around her securely and a shocked look on her face at the time. "Just kidding. Did you have enough time to wash behind your ears and between every toe?" Paige muttered sarcastically.  
Phoebe eyed her and with displeasement shook her finger, "Can you say 'good morning'?"  
"Can you say 'caffiene and showerless sister'?" she replied with the slam of the door.  
"Well, someone's not in a very good mood this morning," Phoebe stated, then turned to her elder sister, noticing her dissappointed face, "I guess that makes two of you."  
"He left. Again. Just left," Piper groaned and with a turn walked down the stairs mumbling, "I'll go make the caffiene-happy coffee for those of you who can actually drink it."  
  
*****  
  
At the kitchen table sat Piper with a glass of orange juice, bacon, scrambled eggs, and waffles topped with strawberries while she skimmed the newspaper for anything remotely interesting. Phoebe bustled in and poured a cup of coffee.  
"Would you like some buttered toast, Piper?"   
Her head darted up and glared at her little sister, "I am eating for two need I remind you!"  
Phoebe smiled and paused to embrace her sister, speaking to her stomach, "Hey in there! Good morning!"  
"Phoebe, you really don't need to say stuff to the baby as well every time you see me you know."  
"I know, but I'm going to be the best aunt in the world so I'm starting now."  
Piper waved a hand in the air and smiled, "Could you hand me a banana? I don't generally feel like moving these days."  
Paige walked into the kitchen just as Phoebe tossed the banana toward Piper, but she caught it instead, "this yours?"  
"Please," Piper whined with a gleam of amusement in her eyes. Paige laughed and let the fruit make an arch as it landed in Piper's palm, "thank-you."  
A mystical shower of blue lights suddenly illuminated the room and they all looked on expectantly as Leo's figure took form.  
"Morning ladies. Hi, Honey," he greeted with a smile for his wife. Piper firmly attached a plastic smile to her face and threw the banana at his chest, "what was that for?"  
"You left me again!" she folded her arms over her chest, no easy task.  
Leo looked desperately at his wife's sisters, but Phoebe just smiled, "You're on your own this time Angelboy. I'm late for work."  
"Maybe you wouldn't be if you spent less time in the bathroom!" Paige yelled after her, causing Phoebe to turn and jut her tongue out childishly, "And you sing badly, too!"  
Phoebe pretended to gasp as the front door slammed and Paige stared between the married couple.  
"I'm not about to get into this. I just want to drink my coffee and eat my eggs in peace, ... and maybe watch a good fight to start the day off right." She sat down at the table beside her sister and sipped her steaming coffee.  
"How come you never just wake me up and say 'Piper, I'm off to go save the world, goodbye now.' Its really not that hard!" she said with a serious look of unhappiness on her face.   
Leo came to sit down on the other side of her, grasping her small hand, "I didn't want to wake you. I just know how long its been taking you to fall asleep lately. I didn't want you to worry."  
"Me, worry? Do I do that?" she smiled, lighting up the room with its glow.  
He laughed and shook his head, "Never."  
Paige dropped her jaw in mock disgust, "That's about the lamest fight I have ever seen you, Piper Halliwell, have."  
"Maybe I'm just special," Leo bragged with a hand bracing his chin to his sister-in-law, who smirked in reply.  
"Don't get too cocky, Mister." Piper chastized.  
Paige laughed as she stood, swinging her bag over her shoulder on her way out the door, "That's right. This woman is invincible, large and in charge. She could send you to the hospital anytime she wants."  
"Speaking of hospital!" Piper jumped at the oppurtunity, "I really need to go to one."  
Leo sighed, "But Piper, we've already decided that it would be too risky to have the baby at a hospital. What if it orbs the doctor away or something?"  
"Then we get a new doctor. I know we can make this work, I'll be good and the baby will be healthy and I won't be mad at you!" she debated, but continued when his expression didn't change, "I'm the one who's having the baby, shouldn't it be my decision?"  
He hesitated at this, because either answer he was considering could result in a tearful Piper, "I guess you're right."  
Piper smiled and comforted him, her hand rubbing his back, "how bout we go check out the place, meet some doctors, see the cute babies, and then decide."  
Leo smiled, "Deal."  
  
*****  
  
"Darryl, slow down. I can only comprehend but so much while I type my next column at the same time," Phoebe said while wrestling the phone into a jam between her shoulder and ear. She paused for a moment to push her glasses back up her nose and take a sip of coffee.  
"Stop writing, and listen to me, Phoebe," Darryl's voicie came through the telephone speaker, "there have been three infants reported missing in the last twelve hours all from the exact same hospital."  
"Sounds like one phsyco kidnapper. Why are you calling us though?" she inquired, tapping a pencil against the keyboard.  
"They are all girls from the hospital near your house whose mothers have connections with certain wicca programs. I have one of those gut feelings that you should be the ones to solve this one. Phoebe, I havn't spread the news around the station, but I can only withhold the information for so long."  
"Okay, Darryl. I'll go home, check it out and we'll see what happens."  
Phoebe ended the conversation and proceeded to call Paige on her cell phone.  
"What?" Paige greeted.  
"Is that the proper way to answer the phone nowadays?" the older sister lectured.  
Paige groaned, "I knew it would be either you or Piper with a demonic problem. I'm right aren't I?"  
"Got it in one. Turn around and head back to the manor to look in the Book of Shadows for demons who steal newborns or something to that extent at least."  
"All right, I'll see you soon right?" Paige delivered bluntly.  
"Yea yea, I'll be there."  
Phoebe put the phone back onto the receiver and sighed, shutting down her computer after saving the file and quickly exiting the office discreetly before Claire could catch her.  
  
*****  
  
Paige sat in the attic flipping through the thick pages of the sisters' spell book. "Nothing, nothing, nothing," she muttered to herself. She was about to close the book when something on the next page caught her eye. A stunning blonde woman was painted onto the page and on the top in old century type font were the words," The Demon of Vitality."   
  
  
*****  
  
"Isn't this nice?" Piper asked as she and Leo walked down the hospital's corridors touring anything and everything baby related.  
"Mm hmm."  
"Oh come on, you could at least act interested," Piper replied.  
"I'm sorry, I just don't see how it could work," her husband defended himself.  
She sighed and then perked up. Cupping her hand around Leo's ear, she whispered, "Hey, lets go see the new babies."  
"Piper, that blonde doctor said that that was off limits at the moment, that they're doing something to one of the little girls," Leo whispered back.  
"So, we need to see them 'do stuff' anyway. For our baby!" she pleaded, tugging his wrist.  
"Fine! How do you do that? You always win."  
"Its a gift," she took his hand and led him toward the glass window where the new infants were being held. However, there was only one child there and the doctor they had spoken to earlier stood over her. In an air of drama, she turned so that she was visible, her eyes burnt scarlet and she placed her hand over the baby's tiny chest and to the shock and dismay of Piper and Leo, the baby rapidly began aging before their eyes until a woman who was at least years older than Piper lay on the floor bawling. The stunningly blonde woman cackled and dissappeared into a smoky haze. The door handle slowly turned as someone entered the room and Piper, still in shock, felt Leo grasp hold of her as they disappeared into a galaxy of blue lights.  
  
  
REVIEWS of any sort are demanded ... I mean requested ... yea sure! PLEASE! 


	2. Discovering the Demon

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or its characters.  
  
AN: hey charmed fans! this is Daisy, Aqua's co-writer on this fic. sorry i took soo long to write this part. hope u like it.......  
A Journey Cut Short  
PART II: Discovering the Demon  
Daisy  
"Paige?" Phoebe called as she closed the front door behind her and began searching for her sister.  
"Attic!" was the faint reply she heard. When she reached the attic, she found Paige sitting on the floor staring intently at a page in the Book of Shadows. Paige looked up at Phoebe and pushed red strands of hair out of her face. "Come here", she ordered.   
Phoebe sat down beside her sister. "Do you know where Piper and Leo went?" she asked curiously.  
"No", replied Paige. "Probably off baby shopping or something."  
Phoebe then glanced at the blonde in the book. "What the hell kind of a demon is that?" she inquired loudly, raising her eyebrows.  
"It's the Demon of Vitality", Paige replied flatly, and kept reading. When she finished, she passed the book over to Phoebe and just sat there, pondering over this new demon.  
"Ok", said Phoebe when she too had finished reading. "A demon who ages babies in order to turn them evil before they can have the power of good instilled in them. Is that about accurate?"  
Paige sighed. "Yeah, but not just any babies. Babies who have a family line of witches."  
"Oh yeah, that's right. That's what Darryl said. The mothers of all three missing infants were involved in wicca programs. But you know what that means."  
Paige nodded. "Piper." They both sat in thought for a moment. Then Paige broke the silence. "You know, maybe we shouldn't tell Piper. I mean we have already convinced her to have the baby here and we shouldn't bother her during her pregnancy if it isn't necessary."  
Phoebe nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. Let's just keep this to ourselves for now."  
"Ok, well let's go see if we can find out more about these babies," Paige suggested. The sisters helped each other up, replaced the book on its pedestal, and began to leave the attic.  
  
*****  
  
When Piper and Leo reappeared, they were in the foyer of the manor. By the look on Piper's face, Leo could tell she was still in shock. That shock, however, quickly turned into confusion and anger.  
"What the hell just happened?" she demanded, turning around and facing Leo.   
"Uh, well I'm not sure, but it looked rather demonic to me." She gave him a 'well-duh' look.  
"Gee, thanks for clearing that all up for me Leo." He shrugged his shoulders. Piper rolled her eyes and waddled into the living room, plopping herself down on the couch. "Who.or what. would do that to innocent little newborns?" she said in pure disgust.  
"I don't know, but shouldn't we be looking in the Book of Shadows?"  
Piper glared at him. "Yeah, there's only one problem with that. It's all the way up there, and I'm all the way down here," she stated, pointing to the ceiling.   
"Fine I'll go get it," Leo replied.  
"Would you?" Piper smiled sweetly to him. Just as he was about to orb to the attic, they heard a pounding of footsteps and Phoebe and Paige came running down the stairs. When Paige saw Piper and Leo she stopped so abruptly that Phoebe ran into the back of her and nearly knocked her down the stairs.  
"Uh, Piper, Leo, hi. What are you guys doing here?" Paige asked uneasily.  
"That's funny", replied Piper from the couch. "I was just getting ready to ask you the same thing." She hoisted herself up and hobbled over to the doorway, placing her hands on her hips. "What are you two up to?" she questioned slowly, narrowing her eyes at her sisters.  
"What, us? We're not up to anything. We just, uh, forgot something for work", Phoebe declared, trying not to sound too guilty, but failing miserably. "Right Paige?"  
"Yep, and now we really need to go so we aren't late", Paige agreed as they continued the rest of the way down the stairs and hurriedly dashed for the door.  
"Wait-" Piper started, but was cut off by Phoebe.  
"Sorry Piper, gotta go! Bye Leo!" she yelled over her shoulder while slamming the door behind her.   
Piper groaned, threw her hands up in the air, and retreated back to the couch.  
"You know they're lying", Leo commented.  
Piper sighed. "Yeah I know. Those two couldn't get away with lying to me to save their lives. I just wish I knew why they were lying."  
  
*****  
  
As Paige and Phoebe hopped into Paige's car they both let out a long, relieved sigh. Paige rested her head on the steering wheel. "Do you think she bought it?" she asked hopefully.   
Phoebe laughed. "If I know Piper, probably not. But at least it bought us some time."  
"Yeah whatever", Paige mumbled starting the car. "Let's just fix this." When they reached the hospital, they asked the front desk where the nursery was. After only two unsuccessful attempts, the sisters finally found the right floor.  
"That way", stated Phoebe pointing down the same hall as a sign saying 'Newborn Nursery'. Pushing through heavy doors into a corridor much more colorful than the previous, they ran into a woman. Paige gasped as she recognized the woman's strikingly blonde hair and other features as the same one in the Book of Shadows. Phoebe kicked her and she stopped gaping at the doctor.  
"What are you doing down here?" the doctor demanded, obviously surprised to see anyone there.  
"We're here to see our sister's baby," Phoebe quickly lied. The doctor eyed them suspiciously.  
"Well no one is allowed in the nursery right now. The babies, um, need their rest." Paige spoke up. "But I thought-"  
"I'm sorry, you need to leave now", the doctor cut her off. She escorted Paige and Phoebe back through the doors and continued on her way. They watched her and as soon as she was out of sight, they snuck back through the doors.   
"Well at least we know we're on the right track", Paige commented as they crept along the corridor, making sure they didn't run into any more unexpected people. "That was definitely the Demon of Vitality."  
"Yeah", Phoebe replied, peeking around a corner and motioning for Paige to follow her.  
"Don't you find it odd that there are no other people around?" Paige whispered to Phoebe. "No nurses, doctors...no one."  
"Yeah that is kind of strange. Especially for a baby nursery. You'd figure that there would be people all over the place tending to the infants. Ok, here we are." Paige shoved Phoebe in first.  
"Hmm, no babies, big surprise, Phoebe mumbled sarcastically.  
"Ok, come on, go. Touch stuff, do your premonition thingy. We don't have all day", Paige declared, pushing Phoebe toward some empty cradles. Phoebe glared back at her sister, but doing as Paige said, started gently touching the cradles. After a few minutes she gasped and tensed up as she was drawn into a premonition. When it was over she opened her eyes and looked up at Paige, not believing what she had just seen.  
  
*****  
  
Piper sat on the couch with the Book of Shadows on the coffee table, flipping through the pages. Picking up her jar of peanut butter, she leaned back and began licking the spoon. She jumped as the pages started furiously turning by themselves. It landed on a page toward the end of the book with a picture of a blonde woman. Piper sat up curiously and started reading. The Demon of Vitality. While she was reading, Leo entered with the cordless in his hand.  
"Phoebe's cell phone wasn't on", he told her.  
"Well, the try Paige's," she replied not looking up from the book.  
"I did. Her's wasn't on either. What did you find?" he asked walking over and sitting next to her.  
She pointed at the picture.  
"Wow, ok, what does it say?"  
"She's called the Demon of Vitality. She...well she does exactly what we saw." Piper tucked her long brown hair behind her ears and looked up at Leo. "Apparently she does this to turn magical babies evil before they can use their powers for good."  
"And how do we stop her?"  
Piper sighed and scrunched up her face. "Well that's the only glitch in our baby-savin' quest. The only way to vanquish her is to-".   
Suddenly Paige and Phoebe burst through the door. "Hold it!" Piper demanded and the two stopped in their tracks. "Sit. Now," Piper then ordered pointing at the couch opposite her. They obeyed, and after taking a couple more bites of peanut butter, Piper continued. "Where the hell have you two been and don't tell me work because I know that's a lie, and why weren't either of your cell phones on?!" When she got no immediate response, she gave up. "Fine. We'll discuss that later. Right now we have another problem. A demonic problem." Missing the glance that Paige and Phoebe tossed each other, she continued on. "There is a demon called the Demon of Vitality-".  
Paige's mouth dropped open. "You know about that?!" she half- shouted.  
Piper eyed her questioningly. "Yeah. Wait, how do you know about that?"  
They all spent the next several minutes explaining, and after all the misconceptions had been set straight, only one thing had yet to be said.  
"Phoebe", Leo started. "You said that the reason you and Paige were at the hospital was so that you could try to get a premonition. Well, did you?" Phoebe looked at Paige nervously.  
"Um, yea. But it doesn't really make sense to me." She paused. "The demon's next victim, the baby in my premonition..was your baby." There was a long period of silence until Paige spoke up.  
"But, we couldn't figure it out, because we had all decided that you were going to have your baby at home, right Piper?"  
Piper looked at the ground. "Well the reason we were at the hospital is because we were kinda rethinking that decision." She looked up at her sisters. "But of course now I think we will go with the original settlement," she finished quickly.  
Phoebe glared at her, hurt that she hadn't shared this information with them. "Yeah," she mumbled.  
Sensing the tension building, Paige stood up and walked over to where Piper was beside the Book of Shadows. "Ok, well we didn't get a chance to see how to vanquish her before we left, so did you find out?"  
Piper nodded. "Yeah, but you're not going to like it. She uses her eyes to age the babies, so we need to damage them in order to stop her. According to the book the only way to vanquish her is to say the spell while blowing a powder-potion into her eyes after she has already aged a baby, while her eyes are still glowing."  
"Which means-" Phoebe began.  
"If Piper's baby is her next victim, then we have to wait until after she ages it," Paige finished. The four of them sat in silence for a while, the reality of what they had just discovered sinking in, and contemplating where to go from then.  
AN: Okay hope ya liked it! make sure to review, 'cause if you dont, then we wont smile, and if we dont smile then we're not happy, and unhappy people dont write fanfics. so in the interest of this story, please review!!!!!! 


	3. Meeting Mommy

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Charmed or any of its characters!  
  
AN: This is a joint story between Aqua (that would be me) and Daisy, so this is why you keep seeing two different authors for this fic.   
  
PLEASE REVIEW FOR MORE CHAPTERS!  
A Journey Cut Short  
PART III: Meeting Mommy  
Aqua  
"So, what, we can't vanquish this demon until I have the baby?" Piper questioned, her voice low and worn.   
"Well," Paige stood and started pacing, "lets just backtrack a bit. Now, Phoebe, are you absolutely positive that this was Piper and Leo's baby in your premonition?"  
Phoebe, sitting with her legs crossed Indian style, looked up with a queasy look, "Well, I can only assume, but you guys were there in my vision and it was in your bedroom's closet, where the baby will be. Oh, and you were not pregnant, Piper. Uh, neither were you, Leo."  
"Good to know," he muttered before continuing, "so this means that we have to risk our baby to vanquish this demon. Why? Why can't she go after a different baby?"  
"You wanta sacrafice someone else's kid?" Paige asked with a twinge of humor.  
"No! Of course not, but I just don't see why it has to be ours. What's the difference?"  
"We are not sacrificing anyone. Lets make this clear. Maybe its just because this kid is going to be one powerful little witch/whitelighter and that would give her a mighty big plus if she took ours," Piper gestured forcefully with a small sigh, and taking on the role of eldest sister, began setting assignments to everyone just as Prue once had done, "lets just go ahead and do as much as we can to get started. Paige, go ahead and make the potion powdery junk. Recipe's in the Book of Shadows. Phoebe, call Darryl and have him keep a look out for any unusual activities involving infant disappearances and that hospital we were at especially. And Leo, help me get up."  
Leo reached down and pulled his wife up to a vertical position while her sisters scurried off to their assigned tasks.  
"You certainly are getting the hang of this big sister thing," he observed with a small reassuring smile.  
"I really am, aren't I?" she laughed, but soon replaced her jocular attitude with a solemn frown, "our baby will be okay right? I mean, she's gonna be fine."  
Leo tried to shield the worry in his eyes, but she could still see it clearly anyway. He slowly embraced her and whispered hoarsely, "Of course she'll be fine. We wouldn't let anything happen to her."  
With a hesitant glance upwards, Piper gently placed her hand over his which rested on her swelling abdomen and mumbled, "I hope you're right."  
  
*****  
  
A yelp from Paige pierced through the air from the Halliwell kitchen as one of her backfired potion attempts exploded in the large stainless steel pot on the kitchen stove.   
"I am not cut out for this potion stewing crap," Paige muttered to herself while pulling out a glop of goo from the pot's contents with the ladle.  
"Its in your blood," Phoebe argued as she walked over to where Paige was stirring ingredients together, "but you could use some help, huh?"  
Phoebe tapped her sister on the nose, which was covered with soot and giggled slightly.   
"You know what Phoebe? I don't think you realize the severity of this situation! Poor Piper and Leo could lose their baby forever if this potion does not work and then countless other innocents will be lost in the process! People could die and it would be my fault because I didn't add enough catfish scales or too much frog liver and no mandrake roots!"  
"Calm down! Gosh, I hope I was never so annoying when I was the youngest sister," Phoebe added under her breath with a small grin.  
"Touche', Sis," Paige pointed an incriminating finger at her sister and sighed, "Just help me, cuz I did everything the recipe said to do."   
"Let's see," Phoebe's finger skimmed down the page thoughtfully, "did you remember the peacock feather?"  
"Peacock feather? Peacock feather? Where am I supposed to get a freakin peacock feather? Why do we even need one? How is it even going to fit into this pot?" Paige continued to ramble in a panicked frenzy.  
"Paige! Calm yourself. We live in San Fransico, right? Just head over to the zoo and find the feather. This is magic, it will work," she took a minute, dangling the car keys in front of her, as Paige absorbed this and then added in a monotone voice that one would use to speak to a child, enunciating each syllable clearly, "Now are you okay? Can you do this all by yourself?"  
Paige snatched the car keys out of Phoebe's hands, "You wait til I put a curse on you."  
"In this house, you don't even joke about things like that!" Phoebe called after her as she began cleaning up the kitchen, humming along as she did so.  
  
*****  
  
The car door slammed to Paige's lime green Volkswagon as she walked through the parking lot of the San Fransico Zoo.   
"Peacocks, peacocks. I guess it makes sense since peacocks are proud and apparantly this demon is awfully proud," Paige abruptly stopped talking to herself and began thinking instead. She really had a problem with this talking to herself thing. It was something that happened whenever she was under stress, which was becoming more and more frequent by the day. Sighing, she marched up to the ticket desk and leaned against the frame.  
"Excuse me, zoo lady. I need assistance over here," Paige called to the brunette who had her back towards her. She suddenly turned around with a nail file in hand and phone between shoulder and ear.  
"Sean, sweetie, could you hold on a minute," the woman muttered into the phone before turning to Paige, "Yes, my name is Molly. How can I help you?"  
"Do you have peacocks here?" Paige asked hesitantly, knowing how peculiar the question was.  
"Um, yea," Molly answered quickly, "you want a ticket?"  
"Sure," the girls exchanged cash and ticket before Paige headed off to the animals and the girl at the gate continued chattering away on the telephone.  
  
*****  
  
Sapphire rain announced Leo and Piper's arrival into the kitchen. When they finally took form, Phoebe laughed, "Weren't you just coming from the attic?"  
"I'm not gonna hear it, Missy. You carry this package around and then tell me if you wanta walk up and down the stairs. And besides," she patted Leo on the shoulder, "Leo's my private Greyhound."  
"I hear you, Piper. I've got the potion stewing and am just waiting on Paige."  
"Where is she?" Leo questioned, his emerald eyes squenching slightly as they often did when he was thinking.  
"Zoo," Phoebe looked up to two baffled faces, "to get the peacock feather!"  
"Oh," Piper eased into one of the chairs and replied with a cynical look, "of course. To get the peacock feather. You know, what's the point of making this potion if we don't have the baby yet?"  
"Its always better to be prepared. You're due soon, anyway aren't you, Sweetie?" Phoebe asked, using a sweet perk in her voice while she wiped the counter.  
Piper stuttered, "In four weeks. I don't really consider that very soon. Its too long to have this demon running around aging babies!"  
"Unless," Phoebe paused, "unless you didn't really have the baby. It only seemed like it."  
"What the hell are you talking about, Phoebe?" Piper interjected somewhat frantically, "its pretty difficult to fake having a baby."  
"Not magically!" Phoebe grinned and ran out of the kitchen towards the attic.  
"Leo, Leo, follow her!" Piper directed as her husband took hold of her and orbed them into the attic where they found Phoebe flipping through the aged pages of the Book of Shadows.  
"You tell me what you are doing right now! You are playing with my child's life!" Piper demanded. Nothing stopped Phoebe's flipping, however, until she reached a certain page.  
"I think this will work," she spoke at last.  
Leo looked over her shoulder at the page in the book, "What will work? Phoebe, what do you plan to do?"  
Phoebe looked up to see genuine concern and explained, "Look, we vanquished Cole in an alternate plane right? And when we came back, everything was normal except for the fact that he was gone. Right?"  
"Right," Piper slurred out, still suspicious.  
"So," Phoebe's eyes grew with glory as she turned the pedestal, which held the Book of Shadows, so that her sister could see it, "we do the same thing that Cole did to us- only we do it to the demon this time in the future. In this alternate plane, Piper has had the baby and we can vanquish the demon there. Once we do that, we can return and she'll be gone forever."  
Piper looked at Leo who looked as reluctant as she felt before returning her eyes to her sister's, "Um, Phoebe, how do you know this will work?"  
"Well, we never do truly know if something will work until we do it, but its our best shot. If Cole can do it, so can we. So, what do you guys say?" Phoebe rubbed her hands together in anticipation, positive that this would work.  
"I, uh, Leo what do you think?" Piper asked.  
He inhaled slightly and then looked from Phoebe to his wife, "I'm up for it if you are."  
She nodded, "I guess all we have to do now, is wait for Paige."  
  
*****  
  
Paige headed into the kitchen, and was surprised to find no one there guarding their brewing potion. She steadily added the peacock feather into the brew and opened her mouth with awe as it easily disappeared into the shallow depths of the pot, creating a purple liquid. She easily poured the completed potion into three seperate flasks and corked them as she heard her sisters and Leo enter the room.  
"See, you can make it down the stairs," Phoebe pointed out to her older sister, with a humorous look gracing her features.  
Piper glared at her, "Shutup. Paige, you finished the potion?"  
"Yep. And apparently you havn't had any babies while I was gone," Paige observed.  
"Well, Phoebe found a way to do it," Leo explained, presenting the page in the Book of Shadows to the red head.  
"I was thinking Piper would have to have the baby, not Phoebe," Paige questioned sarcastically before reading the page in the book, "wow. Then lets blow this popsicle stand."  
  
*****  
  
Up in the attic once again, the three sisters stood around the Book of Shadows, hands clasped together and potions pocketed while chanting. Leo watched from a distance, waiting until they reached the seperate plane, before he orbed there to meet them.  
  
"To retain what has been stolen from the young,  
We shall depart to a future sun,  
In the foreward we take our present mind,  
So that the answers we seek, we may find."  
  
Their voices were melded into one as they collected into a trio of golden lights before they vanished. Leo took his queue and orbed after them.  
  
*****  
  
Piper opened her eyes to darkness and looked around. The familiar feeling of her cotton sheets told her that she was lying in her bed in her normal bedroom. Everything seemed the same to her and she wondered to herself whether the spell had worked or not. Suddenly, she was blinded by bright blue lights.   
"Piper? Are you all right?" Piper was relieved to hear her husband's voice.  
"Leo, thank God. Did the spell work?" she sat up abruptly, clad in her white nightgown.  
The two stopped to hear a whine coming from their closet. Soon, the soft shrill turned into a tiny scream. Piper turned on the bedside lamp, which barely illuminated the room, and their eyes widened to see a newborn baby lying in the cradle in their closet. A homemade sign, obviously in Paige's handwriting, hung on the closet door, 'Happy Birthday, Melinda Wyatt Halliwell! 12:46 AM! 7.6 lbs!'  
Piper glanced at the digital clock, which read 3:58 AM. Obviously the baby had just been born a couple hours ago since many doctor instruments were lying around her room, and yet she didn't feel like she had just given birth. Suddenly, she remembered that her child was in the closet crying her eyes out and she was simply sitting there.  
"Leo, what do we do? She's crying!"   
"I, uh," he stuttered, "its a girl, Piper."  
"Yea, I know," she whispered. After a poignant pause, she swatted his arm, "but she's still crying!"  
The two cautiously made their way to the bassinet and stopped when they saw the face of their child, all wrapped up in a soft pink blanket.  
"Oh my God," Piper muttered under her breath, taking hold of the infant, "she is so beautiful."  
"Gets it from her Mommy," Leo whispered back, never taking his eyes off of his daughter, whose sobs had somewhat subsided.   
He watched with a soft smile and moist eyes as Piper choked back a sob and whispered to her little girl, voice cracking, "Don't cry now. Mommy's here."  
  
  
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! 


	4. The Finale

DISCLAIMER: We don't own Charmed, just this story. Only, Daisy didn't care enough to write a disclaimer, so I'm doing it! LOL, sorry.  
AN: hey guys this is Daisy, sorry 'bout the long wait, ima slacker! lol neway this is the last chapter so when ur done be sure to review!!!!!!!  
A Journey Cut Short  
PART IV  
Daisy  
Paige and Phoebe had likewise found themselves in their beds, and after recalling what they had done, proceeded to the hallway. "Paige!" Phoebe whispered as she spotted her sister creeping down the hall. Paige whipped around to face her sister. "Phoebe? Did it work?" Immediately, her question was answered when the soft cry of a baby drifted to their ears. They stared at each other for a moment with mouths open, then quietly tiptoed down the hall.  
"Piper? Leo?" Phoebe called softly when they reached the couple's room.  
"Shh, come here", Piper replied. Paige and Phoebe slowly entered the dimly lit room and approached the side of the room where the newest addition to their family was being cradled.   
Piper turned around to face them, and Leo said, voice overflowing with pride, "Girls, meet your niece, Melinda." Phoebe gasped and put her hands to her mouth when she saw the precious bundle, and Paige all but broke down in tears of joy.  
"Piper, she's perfect", Paige breathed.  
"I-I know", Piper stammered. Phoebe took the sign off the closet door. Smiling she showed it to Paige. Paige ran her fingers over the delicately written words. This is too good to be true, she thought. Only problem was, it wasn't true- yet. After each sister had her fair turn holding the baby, Phoebe brought up the whole reason they were experiencing that joy.  
"Ok, so what do we do now", she inquired.  
"We stay here and spend every day treasuring this child", Piper stated defiantly.  
"Piper, honey, you know we can't do that", Leo softly told his wife. "We're here for a reason. You know that this baby has to be sacrificed in order to stop the demon and save the baby in our reality." Piper didn't answer, but just kept rocking Melinda in her arms, never taking her eyes off of that precious face. Leo glanced at Paige and Phoebe. This is what they had been afraid of. Piper was getting too attached to this baby, and becoming reluctant to their plan. And for this to work, she had to be completely with them. Leo glanced at the clock. "Ok, well it's only 4:30. We can still get a few hours of sleep. Tomorrow we will take the baby to the hospital for what will seem like a normal, after-birth checkup. Then we will wait for the demon to attack and vanquish her. Everyone got it?" Phoebe and Paige nodded. Piper, however, was not listening. "Piper..." Leo said.  
"Uh huh", Piper absently responded.  
"This is going to be more difficult than we originally thought", Leo told Paige and Phoebe.   
  
*****   
  
"Pouch", Paige voiced loudly, and the empty leather pouch on the counter opposite her dissolved into blue and white orbs, disappeared, and reappeared in her hand. She filled it up with the powder-potion she had just finished making, pulled the drawstring tight and placed it securely in her pocket. Piper was upstairs getting baby Melinda ready and Phoebe was in the attic copying down the spell they were gonna use to vanquish the demon.  
"Paige?" Paige jumped and dropped the stirring spoon she was holding. Spinning around she saw that Leo had orbed in behind her. "Where's Piper?" he asked.  
Paige bent down to pick up the spoon. "Leo, God, don't do that! You scared the hell out of me," she scolded. "She's upstairs. Does this look right? I've never made a powder-potion before."  
Leo shrugged. "Looks fine to me, but how would I know. It's not like I've ever made one either", he stated dryly, heading for the stairs.  
"How helpful Leo", Paige grumbled and Leo could hear her mumbling to herself as he made his way up the stairs. In the bedroom, Leo found his wife and their baby girl. Piper was already dressed, and was now in the process of putting clothes on Melinda. She gurgled softly as Piper delicately slipped a one-piece outfit on her and buttoned it up. Leo smiled and watched as Piper picked up the infant and baby talked with her while rocking her in her arms. Leo walked up behind Piper and gently kissed her on the neck.  
"Hi beautiful." She smiled slightly up at him. "I checked everything at the hospital," he told her. "Our demon is on call this morning and drifting around the pediatric unit."  
Piper sighed. "That's good, I guess." Suddenly Phoebe appeared in the doorway.  
"I copied down the spell. Almost ready to go?"  
"Yeah", Piper replied. "Paige is making the-"  
"AH!" A cry from Paige was heard that sent the four quickly to the kitchen.  
"What the hell happened in here?" Piper demanded, handing Melinda to Leo and walking over to Paige who stood at the sink. "Are you ok?"  
"Nowhere!" Paige began angrily. "Nowhere in that book does it say that you can't clean that powder-potion out of the frekin pot with water!! No warning of combustion when combined with water, no do's, no don'ts, no nothings!" She was now scraping the light purple goo off her face and clothes. "I'm going to get changed", she stated, stomping out of the room.   
"Hurry Paige", Phoebe urged.  
"Yeah yeah", replied Paige on her way up the stairs. Piper sighed and returned to Leo to reclaim her baby. If she was going to lose this baby, she was going to cherish every remaining minute she had with her. Five minutes later, Paige was back downstairs in a completely different outfit.  
"Let's go" Phoebe said, and the solemn group headed to the hospital.  
  
*****  
  
"Ok, so everybody know the plan?" Paige asked. Everyone confirmed just as the elevator door opened, revealing the pediatric floor. Piper protectively clung to Melinda as they exited the elevator and approached the service desk.  
"Piper and Melinda Halliwell", Leo told the woman behind the desk. The woman smiled sweetly.  
"Yes, the doctor is expecting you. Congratulations on the new baby."  
"Thank you." Piper forced a smile, contrary to the nervousness turning her stomach. They were led into a small room down the hall and told to wait for the doctor. Once the woman was back at her desk again, they set their plan into action.  
"Ok, go Paige, Phoebe, before she comes", Leo urged. Paige peeked out the door to make sure no one was coming. When she pronnounced all was clear, she and Phoebe said a quick but heartfelt goodbye to their alternate reality niece. Then Paige grabbed Phoebe's hand and orbed them to the storage closet on the opposite side of the hall. Piper walked over to the door and peered out of the small window. Through an identical window on the storage closet door, Piper saw the blue glow appear and then subside. A few minutes later, Phoebe's head appeared in the window signaling a thumbs up. Piper nodded in return just as Phoebe glanced down the hall and ducked under the window. Piper quickly backed away from the window and no sooner had she returned by Leo's side, than the doctor/demon entered. As soon as she saw her, Piper instinctively stepped in front of Melinda's carseat which rested on the hospital bed.   
"Good morning!" she said a little too cheerfully for Piper's liking. "Piper Halliwell?" she confirmed looking down at the chart in her hand. Piper nodded. "Ah, had a home birth did we." Once again Piper had to force a smile. "Well then, lets just have a look at baby Halliwell, shall we?" Reluctantly, Piper stepped aside. As the doctor walked up to Melinda Piper noticed a glint in her eyes. A glint of something evil. Meanwhile, back in the storage closet, the first distraction was being planned.  
"Ok, this had better work," Paige stated. "If this.she-demon, catches on to our plan, then we're screwed. And even worse, screwed in an alternate reality. Not good. Not good at all." Phoebe smiled.  
"Yea well you look pretty legitimate to me. As long as she doesn't recognize you. Here," she handed Paige a stethascope, which Paige placed around her neck. Then she twirled around so Phoebe could critique her new disguise.  
"So?" she asked.  
"So, I think I hear ER calling your name. Dr. Paige, Dr. Paige Matthews." Phoebe giggled.  
"Ha ha, funny" Paige smirked back. She straightened the wig of long straight blonde hair on her head. In addition to the wig, she wore an extra white doctor's coat and stethascope. "Ok, now we wait," she sighed and plopped down on a packed cardboard box of medical supplies. About 30 seconds later, she was up again. "That's long enough don't you think?" Phoebe looked through the window.  
"Sure, she's still in there, go ahead. Just try not to talk too much, so she doesn't recognize your voice." Paige nodded and quickly slid out of the door. Once again she straightened the wig and thought about the objective: get the demon alone with the baby without looking suspicious. Leo had left minutes earlier claiming to need to use the restroom. It was her job to excuse Piper from the room too. Clearing her throat, she entered the room.  
"Um, excuse me, Ms. Halliwell. You have a phone call at the front desk," Paige said, raising the decibel of her voice slightly in an attempt to disguise it. Piper and the demon turned to look at her. Though Piper knew how she was supposed to respond, she glanced at her baby and hesitated. For a moment the look on her face made Paige believe that she wasn't going to come. However after a moment she excused herself and followed Paige out. While exiting, Paige cringed as she felt suspicious eyes follow her out. With everyone successfully out of the room, they went into the next part of the plan. Tears filling her eyes, Piper froze the pediatric floor. Phoebe slipped out of the closet and glanced down the hall.  
"Um Piper," Phoebe said as she pointed to Leo who also stood frozen among the doctors and nurses. Piper sighed and walked over to him. She waved her hand and as soon as he was unfrozen, she fell into his embrace.  
"I can't do this," she sobbed into Leo's shoulder. "I can't intentionally hand my baby over to a demon."  
"I know, I know it's hard," he said as he comforted his wife. "But just try and remember we are doing this to save our baby, not hurt her." Piper sniffed, and wiped her eyes.  
"I know, I'm sorry. It's just- well, this sucks." Leo smiled at her, and slowly a smile crept on her face also.  
"Uh guys, sorry to break this up, but we do have a demon in there, who's not frozen, and if we miss our opportunity." Paige interrupted. With her arm around his waist, Piper and Leo walked back over to Phoebe and Paige.  
"She's picking up Melinda", Phoebe informed urgently, gazing through the door window. Leo and Paige tried to cram their heads in addition to Phoebe's in front of the tiny window to get a better look. Piper smiled slightly at the scene. She grabbed Paige's hand and pulled her down with her as she kneeled at the bottom of the larger window on the wall, the blinds being pulled up by her partly earlier.  
"So we can all see", she commented.  
"Ohh", Paige said. "Good idea."  
"You'd better get the potion and the spell ready", Leo suggested. Phoebe reached into her pocket and took out a twice-folded piece of paper on which was written their vanquishing spell. Paige stood up and also dug through her pockets, however she did not emerge with the expected pouch.  
"Uh oh", she gasped, realization dawning on her. Piper's head snapped up to glare with wide eyes at her youngest sister.  
"Uh oh? What is uh oh? There is no uh oh! What did you do!?"  
"Heh. I kinda left the pouch in my pocket when I changed my pants earlier", Paige explained fidgeting with her hands and glancing nervously at her family.  
"You did what!! Paige!" Piper was now frantic and on the edge with this newest glitche being added to all her previous stress.  
"I'll be right back" Paige stated, already orbing out. Seconds later the blue haze fell away and she opened her eyes to see the familiarness of her room. Immediately, she began searching frantically for her light-purple-goo stained jeans. When she had torn apart her room to no avail, she retreated to the center, biting her lip. Sighing exasperatedly she stuck out her hand and called "Pouch." She broke into a grin when the blue orbs materialized in her hand, forming the precious bag. "Hm", she said triumphantly and began to orb back to the hospital.  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile, during Paige's hunt, problems were arising at the hospital. The three huddled at the bottom of the window awaiting Paige's return and watching the demon, who seemed to be enjoying walking around the room with Melinda. Almost as if getting to know the baby before making her move. All of a sudden, however, she placed Melinda back in the carseat and set her hand over the infant's chest. Her eyes started to glow a deep red.  
"Oh no", Piper breathed. "Paige isn't back yet!" Moments passed, and the baby hadn't aged yet. They fearfully waited and watched as she placed the other hand also over the infant. It must be because Melinda's doubly magical, Phoebe thought. It takes more evil to affect her. Leo was holding Piper who now had tears running down her cheeks. As Melinda finally began to age Piper cried out, attracting the demon's attention. She looked away from Melinda, who was now at least two months old and towards the window. As her eyes returned to normal she saw a flash of dark hair duck under the window. She slowly advanced on the door. Back outside the room, Leo thought about orbing them back home to safety, but decided against it. We have to do this, he thought. Instead, he orbed them into the room, behind the demon. They were going to fight to stall for Paige. Quickly catching on, Piper and Phoebe jumped into action. "Hey bitch", Piper called and the demon whipped around.  
"Ooo witches, how unexpected," she cackled. "That's ok" and her eyes began to glow. Phoebe levetated and sent a kick right into the demon's stomach, launching her backward into the door. Quickly recovering, she flung an energy ball viciously at them. Piper and Phoebe barely dodged it, and Leo cautiously guarded the baby. The back and forth attacks went on for a while until Melinda became restless. She cried out, attracting Piper's attention. Instinctively Piper spun around to check on her baby. Taking advantage of the distraction, the demon threw Piper and Phoebe up against the wall and poised an energy ball over them. On the ground and powerless, the girls looked desperately at Leo, who was about to dash over and orb them to safety. The demon, however, intervened.  
"You stay there, whitelighter. Or your precious witches will die." With the energy ball still positioned over the girls, the demon went back to aging Melinda, while Leo stood powerlessly by.  
  
*****  
  
"You guys, I-" Paige started as she orbed back to the hospital. She stopped though when she realized her family was not there. "What the hell?" she asked when she heard a thud inside the room. She looked in the window to see Piper and Phoebe huddled in the corner and Leo helplessly standing by Melinda. Quietly, she orbed in behind the demon. Her sisters and Leo saw her, but they didn't let on, so as not to alert the demon. When Paige had inched up so that she was just a few inches away from her she shouted "Hey blondie!" and the demon whipped around. As Paige had the element of surprise, she was able to blow the powder-potion into the gleaming scarlet eyes. The demon screamed and grabbed at her eyes, but not before she had thrown the energy ball revengefully at Paige. Paige cried out in pain and was thrown unconscious into the wall.   
"Paige!" Piper yelled and ran over to her sister, along with Leo and Phoebe, who had grabbed Melinda. "Oh my god, Leo!" Piper pleaded, but Leo was already placing his hands over Paige's body.  
"Why didn't it kill her?" Phoebe asked while crying and gripping Piper's hand, as Piper also cried and cradled Melinda.  
"If a demon doesn't throw an energy ball soon after it's formed, then it starts to lose power", Leo explained, still healing Paige and keeping an eye on the demon. "It's lucky for Paige that it does." Suddenly, Paige woke up straining for breath.   
"Oh thank god" Piper stuttered as she and Phoebe hugged Paige. Paige smiled and hugged them back, until she noticed the demon regaining her control.  
"Uh guys" she pointed. "We might wanna sat the spell before the potion wears off!"  
"Oh yea!" Phoebe said. She whipped out the paper again and the Power Of Three gathered around it and voiced the spell, watching as the demon screamed and exploded into flames. As this happened the floor fell out from under them, and they found themselves falling, falling, until they hit the attic floor.  
"Ow" Paige mumbled as she got up and helped Phoebe off the ground. Leo also got up, but Piper just stared off and showed no intention of moving.  
"Piper?" Leo asked tenderly, helping his wife stand. Phoebe grabbed Paige's hand and quietly led her from the attic, to give Piper and Leo some time alone.  
"My baby," Piper uttered, a tear sliding down her cheek. "We didn't save her." Leo kissed his wife and gently took her hand and placed it on her belly.  
"Yes we did", he said softly. "See. She's right here. And in a few weeks she will be in your arms, the same baby that you held last night. Only this time we won't have to worry about someone trying to take her away from us. She will be ours, forever." Piper smiled and kissed Leo, long and passionate.   
"See this is why I love you", she whispered to him.  
"I love you too", he whispered back. And with that the couple walked hand in hand out the attic door.  
THE END  
oook, so how did you guys like it?! that was the end of this fic but me and Aqua r gonna start another one soon entitled "Prehistoric Problems" so make sure u read that 1 too. and as always, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! 


End file.
